Govt. 2306 Questions
Chapter 4: Political Parties in Texas
1. Which party dominated Texas politics throughout most of the twentieth century?
2. What are the major functions of political parties?
3. What are the major functions of state and local party organizations?
4. Define partisan polarization.
5. Which demographic group most consistently delivers the vast majority of its votes to the Democratic
Party?
6. Why do parties at the state level have less power than they do at the national level?
7. Which party currently controls Texas government?
8. What is political socialization?
9. With what party do Texans increasingly identify themselves?
10. What political movement has had the biggest impact on state legislative races in recent years?
11. In what year did the Democrats in Texas become a minority?
12. Because of contemporary politics in Texas, in what election are the most important statewide offices
decided? Explain.
13. What is the most local voting district called?
14. Which demographic group is the fastest growing in Texas? For which party does this group typically
vote?
15. Who was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state of Texas in voting?
16. What are the levels of the temporary party organization? Why is it called ‘temporary’?
17. What is the main role of the precinct convention?
18. What is La Raza Unida, and when did it begin?
19. Who were the Dixiecrats? When and why did they abandon the national Democratic Party?
20. Which third-party movement has had the most success in winning elections in the post-WWII era?
21. Describe the philosophy of the Libertarian Party.
22. What are nonpartisan elections?
23. What is Duverger’s Law?
24. Under which system of elections do third parties have the best chance of electoral success?
25. What is a single-member district?
26. What is a proportional representation system?
27. What are some of the major principles that are supported by the Tea Party?
28. What is the Occupy Movement? What does the movement support?
29. In twentieth-century Texas, why were primary elections more important than general elections?
30. What is presidential Republicanism?
31. Who were the Shivercrats?
32. In post-Civil War Texas, what groups showed significant leanings toward the Republican party?
33. What is another name for conservative Democrats in Texas? Why are they a vanishing breed?
34. Would Texas Democrats today be considered liberal or conservative?
35. Interparty disputes that cause different factions to develop within the party are called what?
36. What is white flight?
37. In Texas, what group is most likely to support the Republican Party?
38. What groups make up the contemporary Democratic Party in Texas?
39. What is one of the Republican Party’s greatest weaknesses in Texas?
40. In what parts of the state are Texas’s African American populations found?